Ever since it began in 1988, the Royal Rumble match has become one of WWE's most popular and prestigious matches of the year. In 1993, the ruling was introduced that the winner of the Royal Rumble match would receive an opportunity to compete for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania, meaning that the Royal Rumble took on even more prestige, becoming a major milestone in the career of WWE superstars. Over the years a number of men have won the Royal Rumble match, an achievement that has helped establish main event talents or cement legacies. By advancing to the main event of Wrestlemania, the group of superstars that have won the Royal Rumble have created over 20 different matches for either the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship, each with varying quality, impact and legacy. From Sheamus' 18 second victory, to Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels' epic Iron Man match, there's distinct differences between the matches, despite the basic premise being the same. With Batista's match with Randy Orton and likely Daniel Bryan about to become one of them, here's a look at every Wrestlemania match to feature the winner of the Royal Rumble in history.
Honourable Mentions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXMgdbjvE1E Since getting a championship match at Wrestlemania wasn't a prize for winning the Royal Rumble match until 1993, there's a few Royal Rumble winners that don't appear on the list - being Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Big John Studd, Hulk Hogan & Ric Flair. Don't feel too bad for them though, Hulk Hogan was already WWE Champion when he won one of his Royal Rumble matches, and Ric Flair immediately won the vacant title after he won the 1992 Royal Rumble. Other notable exceptions are Stone Cold Steve Austin, who won the 1997 Royal Rumble, but due to his feud with Bret Hart, didn't get a title shot, but a match with him instead. There's also Vince McMahon, who voluntarily gave up his Wrestlemania title shot after he won the 1999 Royal Rumble. The opportunity ironically went to his arch-nemesis, Stone Cold. Every other person that has won the Royal Rumble since 1993 features on the list.
